7.8 /10 1 Votes
94% Rotten Tomatoes Country United KingdomItaly Music director Alex Heffes | 7.3/10 7/10 Running time 92 minutes Initial release 18 April 2015 Editor Valerio Bonelli Screenplay Cosima Spender, John Hunt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Produced by James Gay-ReesJohn Hunt Written by John HuntCosima Spender Release date 18 April 2015 (2015-04-18) (Tribeca Film Festival) Cast Giovanni Atzeni, Luigi Bruschelli, Silvano Vigni, Andrea Degortes Similar Grandad of Races, Three Miles North of Molkom, Love Is All, Dolce Vita Africana, Love Story |
Palio official trailer
Palio is a 2015 British documentary film. Filmed in Siena, Italy, the film documents Palio di Siena, the oldest continually run horse race in the world that is held twice each year (and in the rare case of an extraordinary Palio thrice). It is directed by Cosima Spender, and produced by James Gay-Rees and John Hunt. It was written by Hunt and Spender.
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The documentary premiered on 18 April 2015 during the Tribeca Film Festival, where it won Best Editing for a Documentary (Valerio Bonelli). It additionally received a nomination in the category for Best Documentary at the British Independent Film Awards.

The film primarily focuses upon the unlikely emergence of the upstart rider Giovanni Atzeni rising out from the shadow of the seasoned champion, Luigi Bruschelli, nicknamed Trecciolino.

Palio film clip july 2013 race
Critical reception

Mike Hale in writing on the feature for a Tribeca film Festival roundup in The New York Times described it as "Rocky on Horseback".

Joe Leydon in reviewing the film in Variety said "Cosima Spender's entertaining documentary about a storied Italian horse race is as dramatically satisfying as the most crowd-pleasing scripted sports saga".

